In Radio Berkman 216 we tackle the web as we know it in 2014-2015. Hate speech online, freedom of speech online, censorship and surveillance online, and, of course, whether our smart machines are out to destroy us.

All of these stories and more are part of this year’s Internet Monitor report, a collection of dozens of essays that track how we are changing the web and how the web is changing us.

The citizen response to 2012’s Hurricane Sandy was in many important ways more effective than the response from established disaster response institutions like FEMA. New York-based response efforts like Occupy Sandy leveraged existing community networks and digital tools to find missing people; provide food, shelter, and medical assistance; and offer a hub for volunteers and donors.

In this talk Willow Brugh — Berkman fellow and Professor of Practice at Brown University — demonstrates examples ranging from Oklahoma to Tanzania where such distributed and digital disaster response have proved successful, and empowered citizens to respond in ways traditional institutions cannot.

The citizen response to 2012’s Hurricane Sandy was in many important ways more effective than the response from established disaster response institutions like FEMA. New York-based response efforts like Occupy Sandy leveraged existing community networks and digital tools to find missing people; provide food, shelter, and medical assistance; and offer a hub for volunteers and donors.

In this talk Willow Brugh — Berkman fellow and Professor of Practice at Brown University — demonstrates examples ranging from Oklahoma to Tanzania where such distributed and digital disaster response have proved successful, and empowered citizens to respond in ways traditional institutions cannot.

Benjamen Walker has always had his finger on the pulse of the most overlooked and under-explored facets of culture and technology through his podcast Theory of Everything. This week he visits with the Maroons – descendants of escaped slaves who established free communities in the mountains of Jamaica – and explores their relationship to the political establishment of Jamaica, and their tastes in radio.

Decades before the first shot was fired in the American revolution a band of runaway slaves known as the Maroons living in the mountains in Colonial Jamaica took on the British Empire and won. I’ve long been obsessed with the Maroons and so last summer I jumped at the opportunity to visit their compound in Charlestown for the annual celebration of their 1739 victory. I learned the Maroons hope to play a leading role today as Jamaica moves down the path of Marijuana decriminalization and legalization, but some of the folks I met claim the Maroons are still listening to Radio What’s Innit Fo Me?

The Internet is democratizing access to the global marketplace for millions of people around the world. Thanks to online platforms, payment systems and logistics services, companies, nonprofits and individuals can embark on global journeys like never before.

In this conversation, Usman Ahmed — Policy Counsel for eBay Inc — and Jake Colvin — Executive Director of the Global Innovation Forum at the National Foreign Trade Council — explore the opportunities for economic development that the Internet unlocks, and the specific challenges that global entrepreneurs and micromultinationals in developing countries face.

The Internet is democratizing access to the global marketplace for millions of people around the world. Thanks to online platforms, payment systems and logistics services, companies, nonprofits and individuals can embark on global journeys like never before.

In this conversation, Usman Ahmed — Policy Counsel for eBay Inc — and Jake Colvin — Executive Director of the Global Innovation Forum at the National Foreign Trade Council — explore the opportunities for economic development that the Internet unlocks, and the specific challenges that global entrepreneurs and micromultinationals in developing countries face.

The Digital Problem-Solving Initiative (DPSI, or “dip-see”) at Harvard University, is an innovative and collaborative project, hosted through the Berkman Center. DPSI brings together a diverse group of learners (students, faculty, fellows, and staff) to work on projects to address challenges and opportunities across the university.

In this talk DPSI participants showcase: a smartphone app to reduce campus assault; a method statisticians can use to protect the anonymity of their subjects; and an innovative, immersive documentary project.

The Digital Problem-Solving Initiative (DPSI, or “dip-see”) at Harvard University, is an innovative and collaborative project, hosted through the Berkman Center. DPSI brings together a diverse group of learners (students, faculty, fellows, and staff) to work on projects to address challenges and opportunities across the university.

In this talk DPSI participants showcase: a smartphone app to reduce campus assault; a method statisticians can use to protect the anonymity of their subjects; and an innovative, immersive documentary project.

On July 20, 2014 the Ebola outbreak landed in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country. Public health officials warned that an outbreak could be catastrophic in Lagos, a densely populated city of 21 million. 19 confirmed cases left 11 dead from the disease, but Nigeria’s nightmare scenario never occurred. Within three months, the World Health Organization declared Nigeria Ebola-free, deeming the nation’s efforts to contain the disease a “spectacular success story”.

In a country with 130 million mobile-phone users and active social networks, social media and mobile technology played a central role in Nigeria’s Ebola containment.

In this talk Aimee Corrigan — Co-Director of Nollywood Workshops, a hub for filmmakers in Lagos, Nigeria — discusses how viral video, SMS, and social media were used to sensitize audiences, manage fear and myths, and reduce stigma around Ebola. And how these strategies might be utilized in public health challenges in Africa and beyond.

On July 20, 2014 the Ebola outbreak landed in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country. Public health officials warned that an outbreak could be catastrophic in Lagos, a densely populated city of 21 million. 19 confirmed cases left 11 dead from the disease, but Nigeria’s nightmare scenario never occurred. Within three months, the World Health Organization declared Nigeria Ebola-free, deeming the nation’s efforts to contain the disease a “spectacular success story”.

In a country with 130 million mobile-phone users and active social networks, social media and mobile technology played a central role in Nigeria’s Ebola containment.

In this talk Aimee Corrigan — Co-Director of Nollywood Workshops, a hub for filmmakers in Lagos, Nigeria — discusses how viral video, SMS, and social media were used to sensitize audiences, manage fear and myths, and reduce stigma around Ebola. And how these strategies might be utilized in public health challenges in Africa and beyond.